The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: A Shine On Your Shoes

The song of the day for Thursday, March 31, 2022, is “A Shine On Your Shoes.”

About This Song

“A Shine On Your Shoes” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the 1932 Broadway musical Flying Colors. The same song was used for the 1953 movie The Band Wagon, which starred Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “A Shine On Your Shoes” in 1993 for his album “Steppin’ Out,” which consisted of songs that Fred Astaire introduced. Bennett and Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

“A Shine On Your Shoes,” as well as Steppin’ Out is available on Apple Music.

Here are Fred Astaire and Leroy Daniels performing “A Shine On Your Shoes” from The Band Wagon.

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Album of the Week: My Heart Sings

The album of the week starting on February 27, 2022, is My Heart Sings.

My Heart Sings

Tony Bennett remembers My Heart Sings in his autobiography, The Good Life:

Ralph Burns and I got together again to do some singles, including “Smile,” and for our next album we changed gears again. Instead of the lush, ballad-style arrangements we had used on Hometown, My Town, we switched to a cookin’ jazz sound. The album is called My Heart Sings, and I simply love Ralph’s writing on this one. It’s really beautiful music.

This album is a preview of 1962, which was an outstanding year for Tony Bennett, including his concert at Carnegie Hall and winning his first Grammy Award for “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.”

My Heart Sings was recorded in 3 sessions on 3 consecutive days: April 4, April 5, and April 6, 1961.

Album Facts

Release Date August 7, 1961
Label Columbia
Producer Ernie Altschuler
Vocals Tony Bennett
Arrangements, Conductor Ralph Burns
Piano Bernie Leighton
Bass Milt Hinton
Drums Herb Lovelle
Guitar Barry Galbraith, Chuck Wayne, Mundell Lowe
Saxophone Danny Bank, Al Klink, Toots Mondello, Romeo Penque, Jerry Sanfino
Trumpet Bernie Glow, Irving Markowitz, Jimmy Maxwell, Carl Sereinsen
Trombone Robert Alexander, Urbie Green, Dick Hixson, Frank Rehak
Vibes Eddie Costa

Songs on My Heart Sings

Song Composers
Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me Rube Bloom, Ted Koehler
Dancing in the Dark Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz
I’m Comin’ Virginia Donald Heywood, Will Marion Cook
My Heart Sings Jean Blanvillain (Jamblin), Harold Rome, Henri Laurent Herpin
It Never Was You Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson
You Took Advantage of Me Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart
Close Your Eyes Bernice Petkere
Stella By Starlight Victor Young, Ned Washington
More Than You Know Vincent Youmans, Billy Rose, Edward Eliscu
My Ship Kurt Weill, Ira Gershwin
Lover Man Jimmy Davis, Roger “Ram” Ramirez, James Sherman
Toot, Toot, Tootsie Gus Kahn, Ernie Erdman, Ted Fiorito, Dan Russo

Listen to My Heart Sings

You can also listen to My Heart Sings on

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Song of the Day: Growing Pains

The song of the day for Saturday, February 26, 2022, is “Growing Pains.”

About This Song

“Growing Pains” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Dorothy Fields for the 1951 Broadway musical A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, based on the 1943 novel of the same name by Betty Smith.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Growing Pains” in 1959 with The Count Basie Orchestra for the album Basie Swings/Bennett Sings, released on the Roulette label. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangment.

“Growing Pains,” as well as Basie Swings/Bennett Sings is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: I See Your Face Before Me

The song of the day for Friday, February 25, 2022, is “I See Your Face Before Me.”

About This Song

“I See Your Face Before Me” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the 1937 Broadway musical Between The Devil, where it was introduced by Adele Dixon. Both Guy Lombardo and Glen Gray recorded the song in that time period. Later recordings include those by Frank Sinatra and Johnny Hartman. The Johnny Hardman version, recorded in 1955, was used in the soundtrack for the 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “I See Your Face Before Me” in 1992 for the album Perfectly Frank. Ralph Sharon wrote the arrangement.

“I See Your Face Before Me,” as well as Perfectly Frank is available on Apple Music.

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Song of the Day: Dancing In The Dark

The song of the day for Wednesday, January 12, 2022, is “Dancing In The Dark.”

About This Song

“Dancing in the Dark” was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the 1931 revue The Band Wagon and is widely considered to be the finest of the songs written by Schwartz and Dietz. Alec Wilder in American Popular Song describes it as “… a very strong song with a superb, poetic lyric.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Dancing In the Dark” for his 1961 album My Heart Sings. Ralph Burns, who had arranged and conducted Bennett’s 1959 album Hometown, My Town, did the same for this album.

“Dancing In The Dark,” as well as My Heart Sings is available on Apple Music.

In addition to being a fine song, it’s also one Fred Astaire’s best dance numbers, from the 1953 movie The Band Wagon, featuring Cyd Charisse.

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